- Ali Asgar is known for his role as “Dadi” in Comedy Nights with Kapil
- He played female characters frequently in Comedy Circus on weekends
- Ali felt typecast and wanted to explore diverse acting roles
Ali Asgar is widely recognised for his portrayal of the iconic “Dadi” character in Comedy Nights with Kapil. Recently, the stand-up comedian revealed why he moved away from doing female characters on-screen.
In a conversation with Maniesh Paul on his YouTube channel, Ali went down memory lane, revealing the point in his career when he was just appearing in drag roles and realised “that this is all that I am doing”.
Ali Asgar On Wishing To Do More Than Just Drag Characters On-Screen
He said, “Those who are watching this might say, ‘Is he mad? Why did he leave it?' But at that time, Comedy Circus would air on Saturday and Sunday, and in both acts, I would be playing a female character. So I was starting to get that image. For the writers also, it was easy, and they would keep writing female characters for me over and over again.”
Ali felt that this was not the full utilisation of his potential. But he wanted to grow as an actor. “Sometimes, you feel bad and think that this is not all that I want to do. I want to do more. I would say, ‘Give me a chance. Let me try, at least. If it doesn't land, then tell me',” he added.
“I also kept doing it because I needed work. This is my livelihood. You have to think about all of that,” he said, adding that he had the fear of losing what he was offered. “They would replace me. I kept doing it all in a flow and didn't realise it for so long," he said.
Ali Asgar's Turning Point
Finally, the actor weighed down on having no option but to continue playing the same cross-dressing characters on television till his kids complained. He revealed how his children were bullied because of his on-screen appearances. “Because we work in films, we can say.. like in Deewaar, Amitabh Bachchan's Vijay has ‘Mera baap chor hai' on his arm, no one wrote on my son's arm ‘Mera baap aurat hai' (laughs),” he stated.
On the work front, Ali Asgar starred in the popular TV drama Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii. Following this, he also appeared in a range of soap operas as well as in supporting characters for films like Partner (2007), Tees Maar Khan (2010), Judwaa 2 (2017), and Shehzada (2023), among others.